Growing the Big One (2010)

Good Gourd

Emma Silver (Shannen Doherty - View of Terror), the popular host of a Seattle based radio show, suddenly finds her life turned upside down when her grandfather dies and leaves her his farm with a wish for her to keep it going. But in doing so he has left her with a debt which unless she can raise $75,000 by November the bank will foreclose on the loan and sell the farm to a developer. To raise the money to save the farm Emma decides to enter the annual pumpkin growing competition, something which her grandfather was a regular winner of. It leads to her joining forces with Seth (Kavan Smith - The Irresistible Blueberry Farm), her new neighbour, leading to an unexpected romance. But when an offer of a promotion to a TV show comes up Emma must make a choice between love and career whilst also trying to grow a World Record pumpkin.

I know what I like and I like what I know and to be honest I like Hallmark movies especially those of the romantic comedy variety because they are often cute, easy to watch and a nice way to spend 90 minutes. They may not offer anything new, heck they often rework the same old storylines, but if all you want is some cute, inoffensive romantic, comedy then they usually do the job. That brings me to "Growing the Big One" another Hallmark channel movie which sees a city girl ending up in a small town after a relative dies and falling for a handsome local. It means that it has no surprises as to how things will play out but it is cute, inoffensive and some simple romantic fun which now might appeal to those who grew up watching, and even crushing on, Shannen Doherty in "Beverly Hills, 90210".

Now I have lost track of the number of TV movies I have watched which feature a city girl, or occasionally a city guy, heading to a small town and ending up finding romance yet I don't mind when I discover another one. There is something simply charming about this sort of storyline when done right and for the most "Growing the Big One" does it right with plenty of fun as of course Emma and Seth initially don't get on as he antagonises her. But this gently nudges over to simple romance with a cute scene as they watch a film together. And of course there is the comedy, from encounters with skunks and pumpkin spying as well as manure collecting. Nothing about "Growing the Big One" takes you by surprise and if it had delivered anything other than the happy ending it comes to it would have been disappointing.

What this all boils down to is that whilst "Growing the Big One" gives us a set up of pumpkin growing, not something I have seen in a movie before, the actual romantic comedy on offer is familiar and is another cute Hallmark movie which recycles a familiar storyline and does a nice job of it.